To help encourage veganism/vegetarianism, support allergy awareness and safety in the food industry

shaumom

In all the discussions about being a vegan or a vegetarian, one thing I don't hear talked about a lot is how much allergies to certain food can make this diet choice extremely difficult, if not impossible. Because right now, we have a food supply where cross contamination of many staple foods by other allergens is so common that it can make it impossible to have a nutritionally complete diet as a vegetarian/vegan.

I cannot have gluten due to celiac disease, so no wheat, rye, or barley (well, also no eggs or dairy for me). And so I can't have foods contaminated by these three grains, either. And I find it so frustrating how many foods this restriction knocks out of my diet, not because I react to the food, but because our food supply is so poorly designed to avoid contamination by other foods.

At this point, dried fruit, lentils, nuts, seeds, beans, and grains can all be problematic because they are frequently processed in factories with wheat or they are contaminated due to cross contamination in the field, or in shared harvesting equipment or shipping containers.

For foods that are certified gluten free, the cost is a factor. It can range anywhere from a few dollars extra to nearly twice the normal price for gluten free versions of foods, and if you are sensitive enough, you have to get gluten free certification for the foods that are higher risks.

I have been trying to eat more legumes, so less meat, and have been sick from wheat cross-contamination in these beans three freaking time this year alone. This is just dried beans, no flavorings, no prep, just contamination from the factory or harvesting equipment, likely.

And unlike nuts and some grains, I don't even know a company that MAKES dried beans (or lentils for that matter, or many types of seeds) that are gluten free certified, so it's literally a crap shoot if I can find safe dried beans at all.


I am sharing this because I hope that anyone who supports vegetarianism and veganism will consider this in the future if legislation comes up that supports more transparency in our foods, or more regulations to help our food supply separate allergens more completely.

Because these regulations really can make a HUGE difference for allergic folks. And it's a shame that many people who might wish to pursue vegetarian/vegan dietary choices are prevented from doing so not from a lack of desire, but from contamination and flaws in our food supply.

Hreut001

I am in exactly the same boat - vegan and coeliac - I just deal with the cost factor, or risk it with the processed ones which always bites me in the butt! It's ridiculous!!

MichelleSilverleaf

Not vegan, but I'm all for improvements in processing when it comes to food allergies of any kind. How to do that without driving costs up which would render the endeavor pointless, I think is the big question.